Veggie Fest

I went to Veggie Fest 2015 for the first time this year. It was located on the Lisle campus of Benedictine University, which seems to be a new location for the festival.
Parking was in high demand on Saturday. I arrived at the festival before the posted opening at 11 am and ended up in the garage parking lot, which is the farthest campus lot from the festival. The closer lots were already full.
The festival grounds were in an open, grassy area at the northeast corner of Maple Ave and College Rd. Although there were tents for those who wished to attend the talks and food demos, there was not much shade elsewhere. A number of vendors offered food samples and I liked the Spicy Cajun Caribbean Chicken & Rice from Caribbean Kitchen in the food court. I also tried the veggie kabobs but was not a big fan.
Overall, I think it was an okay experience, especially since admission and parking were free. It was somewhat difficult to find the festival grounds after I parked because there were no signs to follow. And by the time I left the festival at noon (aka, an hour after the festival opened), I couldn’t help but notice that the local police had closed off the entrances to the campus and were directing traffic to overflow parking lots.

As festivals go, this is one of the best. I picked up so much health information relative to vegetarian diet, importance of non-​GMO organic vegetables and oils made from vegetables.
A real eye-​opening talk by CEO of Nature’s Path foods.
Also loved the meditation and learned to reduce stress and build inner connection to Divine self.
The food was excellent (so many varieties and high quality). The live music sang original hits. Lots of fun.
Great weekend event at Benedictine University campus. Sponsored by Science of Spirituality, Naperville. Recommend to improve your well being and happiness.

I’ve been to the Veggie Fest for the last several years. I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan but I love this event. I always enjoy going to try various vegetarian foods… and everything I have ever had there was DELICIOUS! There are also a lot of booth giving away stuff or giving information. I like it… a lot.

It’s free and that’s great. I love free stuff, and you can get stuffed on the free samples. The only thing I have as a downside is the fact that if you wish to buy food, you have to go through and trade your real currency for tickets in order to actually buy some food. I hate when this is done at festivals. I also don’t buy into a lot of the spirituality stuff, and I do think that most of the homeopathy stuff is a complete rip off. That works for some though.

Ok, this isn’t something I’d typically go to… I’ve heard of it the past few years but a friend of mine was working a booth at the fest and since it’s FREE and close by I thought I’d give it a visit.
There is plenty of parking and a short walk to get to the fest… the area the fest is held in is around the small side, booths are close together and you’d think they were handing out free money the way people are crammed in there stocking up on samples of veggie chips and vitamins! So in other words… lots of people, small space — you get the idea. Toss in some humid muggy weather and you’ve got a short visit to this event. But, that was me… I’m not a vegan, vegetarian, gluten free or any of that stuff… but I’m interested in healthy eating and stuff and I got some great samples from this event.
As for those who ARE a bit more involved… it’s definitely worth a trip to check out and get info on some of the products out there. There is also food and drinks there — if it wasn’t so hot and crowded I wouldn’t have minded sticking around a bit longer but we headed out and didn’t try anything so I can’t speak to that.

I love veggie fest and look forward to it the whole year! We always have great food and there are tons of samples. I look forward to the unique vendors. My kids used to love the kids tent, but they have outgrown that. There is even a playground on site. Yes, it is packed, but it is a free event and everything is veggie!

Wow! What can I say about veggie fest ! It’s always a good time! Music, activities, and learning experiences, tons of samples I’m sure could be a meal in itself. But the food there is simply the best! So many options I really wanted to stuff my face! Great food for kids too like a veggie corn dog and stuff. You can also do a Lil shopping g there too, they have clothes and soaps and essential oils there for really good prices. Everything was so nicely priced. Even the event is free! Join the veggie challenge. And get free samples and a really cute tote. I have been a vegetarian for a long time but I really hope those who did do the challenge they stick with it. Simply the best time for my family

Great place for vegans and vegetarians! Tons of booths to get food to order, as well food demos, tons of items to purchase, and plenty of samples! I came back with a full belly, lots of great knowledge, and way too much organic and Vegan food, such as raw cacao, raw sunflower seeds, sprouted bread, and all natural deodorant.
The only downside is the location. Unless you have a car, it’s difficult to get to from the city.

Cramped but with friendly volunteers. They could really do well with a larger venue. I was expecting a glorified farmers’ market but it was mostly a bunch of booths with vegetarian info. Some had prepared food too. I don’t know why they still handed out brown paper bags from Whole Foods.

Veggie Fest was indeed «A-​OK.»
I wanted to go so bad last year but for whatever reason wasn’t able to so this year I made damn sure I had nothing else going on.
We went on Saturday, got there at about noonish I think? I didn’t think parking was bad at all, maybe it got heinous as the day went on since we arrived only an hour after it began. We had to talk maybe 5 minutes from our parking space to the main entrance.
The first thing we did was check out a demo by some woman who was making chocolate pecan bars. That was pretty cool, and really good. I didn’t think I’d like it because the base was made with dates. (Just because I’m a vegetarian doesn’t really mean that I eat healthy, I just don’t eat meat).
After that, we pretty much just wandered around but there wasn’t a whole lot I was super interested in. There was a guy signing people up for the «Veggie Challenge» or whatever who was kind of rude in his interactions with people, but he made me laugh on the inside. He somewhat reminded me (in a much less extreme way) of the a$$hole guy that worked the «velvet rope» at the Viper Room in Los Angeles that I got such a kick out of even when he was being incredibly rude to me and everyone else.
Like someone else said, it was pretty hot and the «food court» was packed. I wanted to try everything but wasn’t about to wait in line for everything. I was already feeling pretty light-​headed. There were no tables open so I had to eat kneeling down on the asphault. Oh well.
Someone was serving chicken!!! (I read that in another review) I didn’t notice that but holy crap I totally agree. It’s Veggie Fest, I would assume that everything offered was vegetarian. Eww. Good thing I didn’t order it thinking it was veggie. I would’ve thrown up everywhere.
A couple of the talks and demos I wanted to attend overlapped so I missed out on like three that I really wanted to hear which was a bummer.
I would go again though, for sure.

I was disappointed in this fest. I agree with the others that the walk was a bit far but not that bad. They did offer a shuttle but I just made the trek on foot. What I really didnt like were how few vendors were Veggie vendors. And by Veggie, I dont mean like a fruits and vegetable vendor that you would find at a farmers market. There were like four dental offices with tents and then like three chiropractors with tents… BOO! I wanted more fun vegetarian food tents. That is what I was going for. Or tents with cruelty free products. And here is where I was slightly annoyed. The food court area was selling Chicken at one of the tents.. Not fake Chicken, but real chicken. That is a bit offensive to me. Vegetarians do not eat Chicken. I did not like that this was even offered at this event. I will not drive all the way out to Naperville for this again. Cant wait for Veganmania in September. They are more on par with my beliefs.

First, there are FAR TOO MANY people at this festival! Parking was a nightmare, and the walk in was borderline ridiculous! People were rushing around, bumping into each other, as if they were starving and the food was running out. Not to mention it was nearly 90 degrees and the food was located on a blacktop parking lot. Way too hot! I think its time to expand to support this crowd.
Second, although what we tried was OK, it would have been nice to have more vegetable options, other than all Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern fare. Some good old grilled vegetables, fresh vegetables, roasted vegetables etc would have made this worth the trip. Even the sale of garden fresh vegetables would have been a good option. Doubt we will put ourselves through that experience again.

I have to say I had high expectations for Veggie Fest. I was also not expecting to have a newly broken ankle that severely limits my mobility while going to the festival. Sadly the parking situation was not accessible, getting to the venue was extremely difficult from the parking (even though I asked where to find accessible parking, apparently it was full), and the fact that many of the tents were on grass outdoors meant I just couldn’t get around and see anything. Add that to a ton of crowds and unruly, unsupervised children running in to me, I pretty much just had a miserable time.
Two stars for the first time I’ve been able to eat vegan food out in Naperville. Please, let’s get a vegan restaurant here, so we don’t just get vegan food once a year! (Yes, I know there are some restaurants that have *some* vegan selections but it’s not the same.)

Who doesn’t love a free festival that supports veganism? It does hat a bit crowded and some only some of the food vendors are a bit pricey since one ticket is one dollar. They do get some interesting vendors and each year is better than the last for offerings.

Great all family fest! I really liked all the activities, specially those for kids. Food and were pretty good. Giveaways and information given were awesome too. We will definitely make it every year.

FREE FESTIVAL ALERT. FREE FESTIVAL ALERT. FREE FESTIVAL ALERT.
Music, meditation and sooo many munchies!!! Does it get any better? M’thinks not.
This was my second time attending this 100% budget & family friendly festival and it fo sho won’t be the last. Everyone is friendly, many of the booths give out free samples, at any point in time there’s at least 3 cooking/​healthy eating classes going on at the same time. There’s a meditation room, a large tent doing lifestyle chats, a kids craft and photo tent and about a million other really fun booths showcasing and sometimes selling books, clothing, honey, olive oil, peanut butter, and cooked food items available once you hit up the ticket sales booth.
The OMango booth rocked and everything they offered was free. $ 0 mango chutney anyone? The frozen yogurt line wrapped around the food area, I regret not saving room for the Caribbean food tent, I got an Indian skewer on naan w/​veggies and paneer and my boo got a really tasty falfel, though the veggie sushi looked delish as well. The fresh juices we good but defo on the pricier side and overall I’d say the festival needed more beverage options as most any booth with a liquid had a line that wrapped around the corner.
The festival is the kind of thing you *could* do in an hour and a half if you don’t have kids, don’t stay for a cooking class and just grab a bite to eat, but we stayed for a half-​days worth of festi fun. We partook in a class and a half of cooking and tasting, we checked out every booth, ate ourselves silly and enjoyed The Giving Tree (band) so much that we stayed the entire 2+ set. In fact, they were so good we actually thought about coming back the next day to see them play again.
Parking is a total pain, but I guess it was still an improvement over two years ago when you had to park across Diehl and play frogger w/​all the traffic. This year you can park about a half mile away away and get «directed» by way too many working one traffic stop and not working together… but the parking was still free, and there was no shortage of spots once you got to the lot.
Next year? No doubt I’ll be up in here.

Of course, I went to check out the veggie vendors!
You had to get tickets to purchase food, one ticket for one dollar. Things were not ridiculously priced, in my opinion. Most drinks were 2 or 3 tickets, entrees 5.
I enjoyed a nice coconut — straight up with a straw (from Fresh Fruit)! I also had some vegetarian indian food which was awesome, it came with my all time favorite, naan (India with love). I tried a basil lime drink which was actually more of a dessert since it was made with ice cream (Cold caffine now). Also tried some seasoned fries from Fries your way. Every thing was really good.
There was a food booth that was just sampling and offering to enter to win a meal, I think the name was Mango, I took their menu… but I think I lost it. Sad :(
There was an Organic Salad Oasis booth which had a strawberry salad that also looked really good… I was just too full to keep eating.
There were booths selling vegan protein powders, Way better snacks… which I probably should have tried. I missed the peanut butter booth somehow… seriously, I don’t know how I let that happen.
There was a coupon booklet you could get right when you walked in which gave you discounts at booths that day as well as some coupons to use at another time. It would have been better if I had thought to get this on the way in, rather than on the way out.
They also had speakers as well as musical entertainment. I would definitely go again!

Veggie Fest is by far the best fest. I loved just about every second I was there — well, until medical had to get called in, but I’ll get to that.
The vendors were plentiful, offering up sample of their biggest hit items and a plethora of coupons. They were knowledgeable and friendly, and always willing to take the time to explain why their product was as fantastic as it is.
The food was ridiculous. Tasty. Plentiful. Inexpensive. There was every cuisine imaginable, and prices were more than fair. ((Although I always hate the ticket system — but I get why it’s the most effective. I’d be highly annoyed to have to stand in a line 20 people deep while people dig out their pennies and dimes)). I went for a falafel sammie ((for a whopping 4 bucks — or 4 tickets)) and branched out and dried one of the faves, the Indian Dosa. Both — incredible. If I hadn’t been so stuffed I probably would have downed a carrot-​apple smoothie, plate of Chinese food, and some Jamaican chicken.
The entertainment was fantastic! The bands and singers were incredible, playing relaxing and chilled out tunes. The speakers were knowledgeable and shared a variety of information on why vegetarianism is so beneficial. Although I’m only about 90% vegetarian, I was quickly reminded why I made my dietary choice — in fact, it made me want to take the vegetarian challenge again and eliminate the 10% of poultry in my diet. ((And yes, I only eat poultry that is nitrate, hormone, and antibiotic free. Not to mention, if the animals weren’t treated well, I want nothing to do with it.))
Due to low blood sugar levels and heat exhaustion, I ended up feeling less than good. Actually, I passed out. ((Awesome huh? I’m such a baby.)) The medical staff on site was amazing. They stayed with me to ensure I was okay, brought me cold drinks, and did everything they could to ensure I was okay and comfortable. Not knowing what was wrong, they assured me I would be okay — which instantly calmed my nerves. Kudos to the medic team!
Parking was a complete clusterf*ck. But what can you expect when hundreds of people fledge to Naperville to enjoy the benefits of Veggie Fest?! I quickly got over it.
Conclusion: Awesome 5 star event.